


Reunited

by Apparentlynotreallyfinnish



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Emotional, Fluff, M/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24019255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apparentlynotreallyfinnish/pseuds/Apparentlynotreallyfinnish
Summary: Rhett and Link meet for the first time after the quarantine.
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 3
Kudos: 79
Collections: Good Mythical Self-Isolation





	Reunited

**Author's Note:**

> I marked this as slash because I was prompted to write rhink reuniting, but this could read as platonic friendship too. Choose for yourself! ^^
> 
> Prompt was sent to me by an anon, but I realized that the prompt also fits one of this week's the Good Mythical Self-Isolation prompts: "after quarantine is over"

The traffic hadn’t picked up yet. But then again, Rhett had been at his car only minutes after the stay-at-home order had been officially lifted. He’d called Link as he backed out of the driveway.

“I’m on my way to the creative house,” he’d said, feeling out of breath as if instead of driving, he was running to get there.

“Me too.” Link’s reply came quick and breathless. They both laughed, slightly embarrassed over how affected they were. 

“Don’t you dare get emotional, okay?” Rhett ordered, already feeling a tell-tale pressure behind his own eyes.

“Oh, come on. You’re the cry baby and we both know it,” Link said with a scoff, but Rhett could hear the smile in his voice.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not the one who’s gonna cry.”

“Not even one tear? Tiny, little droplet flowing down your cheek?” Link teased.

“Well, maybe,” Rhett mused. “Sounds very cinematic.”

“I’ll be there first. Do you want me to dramatically run up to you and jump into your arms when you get there?”

“Ouch. Have we been apart so long that you’ve forgotten my poor back?”

“Oh. Yeah. Okay.” 

Did he sound disappointed? Rhett glanced at the phone, frowning.

“Well, I mean—” he continued hastily. “You can run up to me. Just… no jumping.”

Link’s giggle filled the car and wrapped around Rhett like a warm blanket. ”I was kidding,” Link said, voice alight with mirth. “I’ll see you inside.”

A fierce blush rose to Rhett’s cheeks and for once, he was glad that they were not on a video call.

“Hmph. Maybe I’ll run into your arms then. Asshole,” he muttered, feigning hurt.

“You do tha—” Link’s sentence cut short and Rhett heard him curse and slam down the breaks.

“Link? You okay?!”

“Ah. Yeah. Shit. All good,” Link mumbled. “Almost drove through a red light.”

“I’m gonna end this call now. I’d rather have you at the house in one piece.”

“No, I’m fine!”

“Yeah, yeah. Tell that to the pedestrians that you probably just scared half to death.”

Link mumbled something unintelligible. “Ugh, fine. See you at the house,” he added louder.

“Eyes on the road, mister,” Rhett ordered with a smirk before ending the call.

The anxious rush he’d been in when he left home had mellowed into bubbling anticipation. He checked the speedometer and slowed down to the speed limit and changed the radio to a country station. 

Every new intersection, every new turn, every new street he crossed took him closer to the house. Closer to Link.

It was ridiculous, wasn’t it? To feel like a part of him had been missing all these weeks? That he’d been lacking, incomplete, unfinished, even a little bit broken?

The intensity of the loss had taken Rhett by surprise. Because it’s not like they hadn’t talked with each other during the quarantine. They’d called—multiple times a day. And they saw each other’s faces on video calls and while filming. They’d even started to text more. They talked about things that had nothing to do with work. Silly things, boring things, important things, everyday things that they usually didn’t talk about. The lack of physical proximity had turned into an abundance of virtual communication. Rhett had actually had to silence Link’s notification after Jessie had lost her mind one evening with the incessant chime of Rhett’s phone. 

Rhett stared at the red light. His finger tapped a beat onto the steering wheel as he waited his turn to go. 

They hadn’t talked about what would happen after. Would they go back to the way things had been before? Would seeing each other again mean no more texts? Rhett imagined going to bed without their nightly text exchanges. It made him feel hollow. There had to be some kind of new normal, right? Something between how it had been before and during. _An after._ A compromise.

Rhett’s stomach tightened when he made the last turn. He wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or nerves. Excitement probably. Why would he be nervous to see Link?

Link’s car made Rhett’s heart jump. He parked next to it and hopped out. Long strides took him to the front door of their house. _Their_ house. 

Rhett stood still, hand hovering in front of him, itching to open the door. But something had stopped him.

He should think of something to say. Something profound. Something to mark this moment. ‘Nice to see you’ was too lame. ‘I’ve missed you’ was true but somehow lacking. He couldn’t say something dramatic like ‘I feel whole again’. That would be a bit much. Link would think he’d gone mad. 

Rhett’s hand fell and he jumped up and down in place, trying to relax and think. 

Maybe he wouldn’t say anything. Maybe they would act like this was any other day before all the chaos. That could be nice. Comforting in a way. _Yeah_ , he decided, _that’s what I’ll do. I’ll act like this is not a big deal._

It was a big fucking deal.

The door opened with a creak and Rhett walked in. He could hear his heart thumping wildly. Was that normal? It sounded louder than a minute ago.

“Link?” he called, embarrassed about the quiver in his voice. 

The few seconds of silence twisted Rhett’s gut and flooded his mind with visions of empty rooms and unimaginable loss.

But then Link called “Rhett!” and Rhett was moving before the last whisper of the nightmarish thoughts had left his mind. He was pulled towards the voice. Sharp and real, no longer digitized. No longer brought to him through machines and wires and screens. 

“Link!” The name dropped from his lips like a desperate plea and he was too far gone to feel embarrassed anymore. 

_He’s here! He’s here! He’s here!_ His mind was chanting as he stumbled towards the voice calling for him. 

And then, there he was, coming towards him with wide eyes and an even wider smile. He looked different somehow. Thinner maybe. And a bit more gray. His hair was a shaggy mess and it brought back memories of years gone by. The blue eyes shined through a film of tears and Rhett wanted to tease. He wanted to claim victory, but he couldn’t. He was already sobbing.

They crashed into each other with more force than either of them had meant. Rhett was thrown against a wall and Link wrapped around him, crushing him into a hug that was more than a hug. It was them simultaneously coming apart and coming together. It was them finding each other again. It was the reassembly of their souls. 

Rhett’s arms were tight around Link and Link’s face was pressed into the crook of Rhett’s neck. They slid into the floor, a tangle of long limbs and heaving sobs and whispered words.

“You’re here.”

“I’m here.”

“Missed you so fucking much.”

“Missed you too.”

“I don’t know how to—”

“Me neither.”

“It was like—”

“I know.”

“Never again.”

“Never.”

“Fuck.”

“I know.”

“Yeah.”

“Just hold me. Please.”

“I won’t let go.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Rhett leaned against the wall, with Link curled in his lap like a touch-starved cat. Weeks worth of tension slowly slipping away from him. 

A forehead against a forehead. Blue eyes staring into green ones. More tears. Smile so bright it took Rhett’s breath away. Laughter and teasing. 

Soft touches. Fingers threading through hair. A cheek pressed against a chest. A connection rebuilt through tactility.

“I love you,” one of them whispered. It didn’t matter which one. The feeling was mutual.


End file.
